


The King and his Gesture

by ImStuckInTheComputer



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Coming Out, Deaf Character, Deaf Hinata, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, First Kiss, First Relationship, Fluff, Getting Together, Hinata Shouyou is Sunshine, Idiots in Love, Implied Relationships, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, M/M, Mutual Pining, Never Have I Ever, Panic Attacks, Sharing a Bed, Sign Language, Team Bonding, Team as Family, Training Camp, Truth or Dare
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-19 10:01:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29997687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImStuckInTheComputer/pseuds/ImStuckInTheComputer
Summary: Hinata Shouyou is short. He's also deaf but that's less important. This year he is going to Karasuno High School and is joining the Volleyball Team, to become just like the Tiny Giant. He has to become the best player on the court, despite his height and despite his terrible ears. Then he meets (or re-meets) Kageyama Tobio, the fallen King of the Court. Despite their rivalry, a friendship blooms and Kageyama becomes more than Hinata could ever believe.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou & Kozume Kenma, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Karasuno Volleyball Club & Karasuno Volleyball Club, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	1. The King and his Jester

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, my name is Marty. This is my first work, well, ever but I really hope that you enjoy it all the same. I've fallen in love with the Karasuno Volleyball Club boys recently and ended up being bitten by the writing bug. I hope that this mediocre attempt at writing is something that you enjoy. Now, let's meet these idiots!
> 
> Toodle pip,  
> Marty

Chapter 1 - The King and his Jester

Hinata had never been tall, he’d also never been able to hear but that didn’t bother him as much. He wanted to be tall enough to jump, to fly, to be taller than anyone else on the court. Volleyball had been his passion ever since he had seen the Tiny Giant play in the window of that electronics store, for once it hadn’t bothered him that he hadn’t been able to hear what was going on, he was too enamoured by the way that the Tiny Giant ran and lept and flew. He really did fly. Hinata had decided at that moment that he would become as good as the Tiny Giant, better even, despite the fact that he stood at nearly 5ft4 and was almost completely deaf. One thing about Hinata was that he was very stubborn, nothing would stand in his way.

-

Nothing would stand in his way except stomach ache. Today was Hinata’s first ever proper game, he’d managed to cobble together a team made from basketball players and first years. Hinata had made this team and was determined to win. Until the stomach ache struck. He cursed his stupid nerves as he struggled to the bathroom, clutching his stomach and looking positively green. His stomach rumbled and he felt his breathing hitch as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try and settle his stomach. It was at this point that two very intimidating boys knocked into him, Hinata, of course, didn’t see them coming, what with having his eyes closed. He could see them, laughing, but the sound was muffled and tinny, the microphones on his hearing aids beginning to die. Hinata made extra effort to figure out what they were saying,  
“Looks like this is going to be pretty easy!” Of course, they were laughing at his team. Hinata felt his mouth open and words spew out in that way that they do sometimes when he gets upset, the words slurring together slightly as he forgot everything his speech therapist had taught him in the heat of the moment,  
“Hey, you three!” Oh no, here he goes, “I wouldn’t be so cocky, as soon as my tummy stops being upset, I’m gonna wipe the floor with you!” The three boys fell about laughing at this, mocking the way Hinata’s words slurred together and his inability to pronounce all the sounds correctly. Hinata felt the back of his neck heat up as his hearing aids finally died, cutting off all sound. He felt the familiar feeling of being trapped in a glass box, struggling to understand what was going on around him, separated from the rest of the world. All of a sudden the three boys stopped laughing and suddenly looked very scared, Hinata turned to look in the direction they were staring and saw a tall boy standing there. He was tall and lean with an intimidating gait, clearly walking quickly and without sound. Hinata had learned to identify who were loud walkers based on the way they walked. This boy was clearly silent. He had dark hair with a fringe that flopped over his forehead, underneath which were these piercing blue eyes. Hinata had never seen a Japanese person with eyes this blue before, only the friends of his Irish cousins had eyes that colour. It suddenly occurred to him that the boy was talking, he seemed to be angry. The second that the boy stopped speaking, the other three boys ran off very quickly. Hinata muttered a quiet thanks before pushing his way into the bathroom, not wanting another person to mock the way he spoke. Sometimes, Hinata wished he could hear.

The game did not go smoothly to say the least, even after Hinata remembered to replace the batteries in his hearing aids. The other players on his team were no match for the cohesion and structure of the team that Hinata soon found out was Kitagawa First. They were perfection on the court. Hinata’s team only managed to claw back a few points when the tall boy with the strangely blue eyes set to the spiker too quickly and the spiker missed. It was set point for Kitagawa First, his teammate managed to receive the ball but sent it in the wrong direction. Hinata could see it, the ball appeared to be moving in slow motion. He tuned out all of the background noise and ran towards the ball, leaping through the air to spike it down as hard as he could. The ball left a sting on his palm as he watched it fly down on the other side of the net. There was no movement on the court as everyone waited for the whistle to signify who got the point. Hinata’s eyes were firmly fixed on the referee and watched in shock as the referee raised his arm to point towards Kitagawa First. The ball had been out. They had lost.

Hinata had never felt so defeated. He had lost, he had knocked the ball out of play, it had been his fault. Leaving the giant gymnasium, Hinata saw the tall boy that had saved, no not saved, defended, him in front of the bathroom. Hinata saw him and felt an urge to go up to him. He wondered what he would say if he had the courage. Suddenly he found himself shouting,  
“Hey. Hey! King of the Court! One day, I’m gonna beat you, I’m gonna stay on the court for longer than you.” Hinata felt the tears begin to slip down his face and he began to trip over his words, attempting to calm himself down and use his tongue to make the sounds properly. What he didn’t expect was for the taller boy, the one they called King of the Court, to respond,  
“Only the strongest get to stay on the court. So if you want to win, you have to become even stronger.” Hinata watched his thin mouth make the shapes of the words, the wind whistling in his hearing aids. Neither of the two boys said anything before the dark haired one turned on his heel and stalked away, leaving Hinata on the steps.

-

From that moment on, Hinata had vowed to work even harder, training with everyone he could, the girls team, the ladies team, everyone. The first day of high school came and despite all his practice, Hinata didn’t feel ready. He was worried about his teachers and whether or not they would announce to the class that he was deaf, he worried about whether or not he would be allowed to join the volleyball team, based on his lack of hearing. He just generally worried. In his head, he knew it would all turn out fine, but that doesn’t mean that he believed it. Hinata spent all day turning up his hearing aids in an attempt to hear the people around him. He focused hard on what the teachers were saying but somehow still managed to miss about half of it, he was so excited to get to volleyball practice later in the day. Well, that and his left hearing aid had died halfway through the day and his spare batteries were in his kit bag. At the end of the day, Hinata shot out of the classroom as quickly as he could, wanting to be the first person at the volleyball gym.

No, this couldn’t be. Hinata’s thoughts were moving faster than he could process them, the King of the Court was standing in front of him. The very same King of the Court who had sorely beaten his team the previous year. Kageyama Tobio, the world’s most pompous, stuck up condescending-  
“What are you doing here?” Kageyama looked as shocked as Hinata felt.   
“Uhh, I go to school here?” Why was Kageyama here, he was the best player on the court last summer, what was he doing at Karasuno? Was he here because of the Tiny Giant too? Hinata couldn’t stop these thoughts racing around his head, he could feel his tongue start to slip and the words begin to melt in his mouth, he made an effort to hold his tongue in the correct position as he said, “Are you here because of the Tiny Giant too?” Kageyama’s blue eyes darkened as Hinata spoke, he turned away so Hinata couldn’t understand what he was saying. It really was a curse not being able to hear. Then everything started to descend into madness.

That’s how they ended up sitting on the steps of the volleyball gym, they’d started fighting and it culminated in Kageyama sending an incredibly powerful serve towards Hinata which he had failed to receive and resulted in the Vice Principal's toupee being knocked off, which Hinata is convinced he only got away with because he is deaf. Kageyama sat there sulking, muttering something under his breath with his head turned away from Hinata, so he couldn’t make out what the taller boy was saying. All of a sudden he felt a tap on his shoulder, as he whipped round, managed to make out the tail end of the sentence,  
“-listening to me?” Kageyama’s eyes flashed, clearly annoyed at being ignored. Hinata felt the back of his neck heat up, he cursed his complexion for showing his embarrassment so easily.   
“I’m deaf, dumbass!” Hinata exclaimed, pulling back his ginger curls to expose his hearing aids, “That’s why I can’t understand what you say when I can’t see your mouth.” Kageyama looked embarrassed at his outburst but quickly recovered his expression, his thin, slanted eyebrows turning down to their usual position before he spoke again,  
“I was saying that we should challenge the upperclassmen.”  
“Are you mad? They’ll destroy us.” Hinata was shocked, but slightly intrigued, if he was honest, he did really want to play volleyball against them.  
“It’ll prove to them that we can think of each other as teammates, not competition.” Hinata had to admit that Kageyama had a point, if they were ever actually going to be allowed to play on the same team, they had to actually be able to work together. Hinata doubted that this would be possible. Hinata turned back to Kageyama,  
“Hey, uhh, please don’t tell anyone about the deaf thing, I don’t want people to start treating me differently.” Kageyama nodded curtly, before turning away again. 

The decision had been made, they would play a three vs three game on Saturday, against the other two new first years and another member of the team. They had an upperclassman called Tanaka on their side, letting them into the volleyball gym at 5am so they could practice. Kageyama spent the whole time annoying Hinata, telling him that he had ‘crappy receives.’ Hinata knew fine well his receives were fine, but Kageyama refused to set for him until he can make a proper receive, which only furthers Hinata's determination. He will do anything to spike one of Kageyama’s sets.


	2. Civil War

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hinata talks with Suga and there is a 3vs3 game. The rest of the team finds out that Hinata is deaf

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, here is the second chapter. I had a lot of fun writing this so I hope you enjoy. I decided to post it little bit earlier because I got very ahead with the writing so I should be able to post twice a week instead of just once.
> 
> Toodle pip,  
> Marty

Chapter 2 - Civil War

Hinata had been doing nothing but practice lately, even at home, he would receive against the wall, he wanted nothing more than to be better than Kageyama, he wanted to be better than anyone else on the court. Every free second he had was spent practicing, including his lunch time. One of the third years, Sugawara, had agreed to help him practice during lunch. Suga seemed concerned by Hinata’s fevour, wanting toss after toss after toss. It got to the point that even Suga was exhausted, his grey hair slick against his forehead with sweat, but Hinata still had energy, fed by his endless drive to get better and better and better. Suga waved his hand to catch Hinata’s attention and suggested they take a break. 

Sitting on the paved walkway next to the volleyball gym, Suga spoke,  
“Why are you so competitive when it comes to Kageyama? If you ask me, it’s better to avoid making enemies with guys like that.” Hinata flinched at Suga’s directness, feeling the familiar sensation of his neck heating up. He considered his response carefully and made sure his mouth formed the words correctly,  
“Kageyama is so good at everything he does, I just think that if I get strong enough to beat him, I’ll be able to face up to all sorts of opponents as equals.” Hinata blushed more obviously now, but kept his eyes trained on Suga’s mouth.  
“So you’re saying that if you had to rank all the players in your own age group, you’d give Kageyama the top spot, that’s quite an endorsement.” Hinata huffed, not wanting to admit that the upperclassman was right. “Look at it this way, he’s no longer your most powerful enemy, now he’s your most powerful ally.”

-

Today was the day of the three vs three. Hinata was absolutely terrified. He knew he needed to calm down or Kageyama would throttle him, and continue to steal his insult that he used on the first day of High School. Dumbass. Kageyama would not stop calling him that, and it was beginning to get annoying. Hinata did have somewhat of a soft spot for Kageyama since his talk with Suga and had resolved to try and get underneath that tough exterior that the setter had built up. And that involved hitting his sets, which Hinata had been able to do, with varying levels of success over the last couple of practices. This was the day that Hinata would show Kageyama just how good he was.

Standing on the court, the two other first years, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, as well as the captain, Daichi, on the other side of the net, Hinata felt intimidated. Especially as his first spike just got shut down by Tsukishima. And his second. Failed spike after failed spike with Tsukishima taunting them all the while, telling him the story of how Kageyama got his nickname. It wasn’t because he was the best on the court, like Hinata had assumed, but rather because he had been the tyrannical dictator of his middle school team. Hinata felt a pang of sorrow for Kageyama, knowing what it felt like to not have any real teammates, remembering his cobbled together team. Maybe he could be Kageyama’s teammate. Something flickered in the corner of his eye, Kageyama grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling him up to the back of the court,  
“I’m jealous of your crazy reflexes, okay, it’s such a waste. So now all i’m able to do is adapt to your strengths.” Hinata looked at Kageyama in astonishment, fiddling with his hearing aid to make sure they were turned on and he was understanding Kageyama correctly, “I want you to use your best speed and your best jump and I'll deliver the ball to you. You don’t need to adjust the ball.” Kageyama took a deep breath, his eyes flashing dangerously, “In fact, you don’t even need to see the ball.” Hinata nodded resolutely, as they moved back into position. Hinata looked carefully at the setter, watching him breathe deeply and shake out his hands, ready to set.

Hinata kept his eyes trained on the ball, no distractions. The world around him seemed to melt away, he watched the ball come towards him, ricochet off of Tanaka’s arms and towards Kageyama. Scanning the other side of the net, he saw a space, and ran. He didn’t think, just leapt as high as he could, eyes squeezed shut. Higher, higher, arm swinging down as fast as he could. Hinata felt something connect with his hand. The ball! It was there, just like Kageyama said it would be. The ball left a soft sting on his hand as he felt gravity pulling him back down. His feet connected with the floor again as he exclaimed,  
“I- I touched the ball!” He broke out into astonished giggles, elated at the fact that he had hit his first proper spike in a high school game.  
“Hey!” Kageyama was waving to get his attention, “You didn’t really have your eyes shut, did you?” Hinata looked at Kageyama like an idiot,  
“You’re the one who told me not to look at the ball. I knew if I kept my eyes open I’d look at it,” Hinata whined, why did people never say what they meant. Tanaka ran over and ruffled his hair, knocking his head this way and that, before suddenly knocking one of his hearing aids out. The rest of the team turned at the noise of the plastic battery case connecting with the floor.  
“What was that?” Hinata couldn’t figure out where the voice was coming from.  
“It’s mine!” He shouted, reaching down to grab it before anyone else could. Kageyama bent down too, their hands knocking together as they both reached for the hearing aid. Hinata snatched his hand back like he’d been burned as Kageyama picked up the hearing aid and handed it to Hinata without a word. Hinata fixed the hearing aid back in his ear and flicked his hair to cover it up.  
“What’s that?” Tsukishima sneered, his glasses lens flashing. Hinata took a deep breath.  
“I’m deaf. No, I’ve never been able to hear. Yes, I wear hearing aids, they help a little but I mostly rely on lip reading and sign language. Yes, that means you have to look at me when you’re talking to me. Any questions? No? Good.” Hinata looked up from the floor and his eyes connected with Kageyama’s, who nodded at him, giving his approval at Hinata’s explanation.  
“Whoa, that’s so cool! You couldn’t see or hear anyone’s movements when you hit that set!” Tanaka’s wild movements made Hinata turn as he began to ruffle Hinata’s hair again, being more careful not to knock his hearing aids again. Hinata giggled at the tickling sensation.

Hinata walked out of the volleyball gym at the end of the game, rooting around in his bag for the key to his bike lock before he walked directly into Kageyama who spun round and immediately started yelling,  
“Watch where you’re going, dumbass!” but there was less ferocity behind it. Hinata beamed up at him and said,  
“You’re the dumbass, not me. Race you to my bike?” Before he took off at a sprint towards his bike, laughing, not paying any attention to the muffled voice behind him. Things were already beginning to settle down, and the team hadn’t kicked him out, not for being short and not for being deaf. Maybe him and Kageyama could be teammates after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end of this chapter particularly is a lot of fun, with a little bit of something blooming. Yes? No? Just me? Ah well, let me know what you think!
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> Marty

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed! I'd love it if you stuck around for a couple more chapters, maybe even let me know what you thought of this chapter. I'm actually hard of hearing so writing a deaf character is really cathartic for me. I hope to put up a chapter every week but if people appear to be enjoying it then I'll try and post more regularly!
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> Marty


End file.
